[Rhodes22-list] Rhodes hit by car update

Fri Jul 23 00:01:02 EDT 2010

Alex, you're welcome.

The salt pond at Charlestown, Ninigret Pond, may be ideal for your
needs.  It's tidal, but fed through a breachway into the Sound.  In
our boat at high tide, you could sail the whole pond.  Most if it at
low tide.  No strong currents, and wide open spaces.  We rented a
house there for a few summers, got married there, and commuted
weekends from West Hartford until our daughter was born.  (That's when
my golf game stopped at 100 also.)  Have since moved on to other
places, but remember that place as special.

There is a sailing school in Westport that's open to the public,
Longshore Sailing School.  May be too late for this summer, but that's
a good basic sailing class.

Dave

On Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 7:16 PM, Alex McKenna <alex at brightrhino.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks David,
>
> Everything really worked out better than I could have hoped, Fortuitous is
> vastly better than the one damaged by the Honda Civic.
>
> I will look up the Westport and Charlestown ramps, neither are too far,
> especially compared to the drive from North Carolina. I am really a novice
> sailor, and will be going out with my wife and two small children, ages 3
> and 6, so I would prefer a more protected waterway, with simpler navigation
> and tide challenges to start out. That would justify the longer drive.
>
> I would love to find a marina to leave it at with the mast stepped for the
> remainder of the sailing season. That would be ideal.
>
> I appreciate your suggestions.
>
> Alex
>
>
> David Bradley wrote:
>>
>> Alex, congratulations!  It sounds like things have worked out for the
>> best, in a rather circuitous way.  I love "Fortuitous."
>>
>> It's a bit of a drive, but I remember that there is a free boat ramp
>> in Westport under I-95 that has no overhead power lines and a straight
>> shot to the Sound.  I also remember a ramp in Charlestown, RI on
>> Ninigret Pond.  If you launched there, you could camp overnight in the
>> protected salt pond and sail Block Island Sound during the day.  Or
>> better yet, sail to Block Island and throw a hook out in the harbor to
>> camp.  The donut boat will come by in the morning and sell you
>> breakfst.
>>
>> There must be something in Essex, straight down the CT River.  I can
>> ask a friend who lives and boats there if you don't come up wiht
>> something.
>>
>> Here's a thought - find a boat yard on the Sound or just off the sound
>> where you can leave the boat on its trailer with the mast stepped, and
>> have an easier drive and in-the-water experience.  I'd bet that the
>> guy in the marina in Charlestown would be happy for that business.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> Dave B
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 5:43 PM, Alex McKenna <alex at brightrhino.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello Everyone!
>>>
>>> Finally I have some good news to report, the driver's insurance company
>>> paid
>>> me for the destruction of the sailboat. I called Stan, he agreed to give
>>> me
>>> a credit for whatever salvageable parts were on the old boat, so I towed
>>> it
>>> down to Edenton. I spent two days with Stan, Elton, Rose and the guys and
>>> picked out a beautiful 86 Rhodes 22. Mike and Edwin cleaned it up and
>>> fixed
>>> a few minor items, then they took me out on the sound for a sail. The
>>> first
>>> time I have actually sailed in a Rhodes 22. It was terrific.
>>>
>>> I had a little trouble with the truck on the drive home, so that took
>>> about
>>> 17 hours, but I am safely home, with my new-to-me boat.
>>>
>>> It has a bimini, roller furling main, an enclosed marine head, a hatch
>>> over
>>> the head, a solar panel adjacent to the hatch. A nice new plastic
>>> companionway hatch.
>>>
>>> It is, by far, the most beautiful boat I have ever owned. I am excited.
>>>
>>> Now I am trying to find some places to go sailing near me in Connecticut,
>>> we
>>> live outside Hartford, so the Long Island Sound is about an hour away, I
>>> am
>>> still a novice sailor, so I am looking for a more protected area to begin
>>> with. We drove to the area around Niantic looking for a good ramp, there
>>> is
>>> a state ramp, but it is above two bridges. We also found a ramp at
>>> Pleasure
>>> Beach, but the water seemed pretty shallow at the ramp.
>>>
>>> If anyone has any ideas about good places to sail in the area, I would be
>>> grateful to learn of them.
>>>
>>> Are there any lakes in the CT/MA/RI area to sail on?
>>>
>>> My two kids, 3 and 6, are excited to sail, I think my wife is indulging
>>> me.
>>>
>>> It has no name, we are considering "Fortuitous"
>>>
>>> Stan called me on Monday after I returned home, and said my old boat was
>>> damaged beyond repair, the centerboard trunk was ruined from some earlier
>>> damage. So if I had tried to repair it myself, it would have leaked
>>> terribly
>>> once in the water. I read the article on repairing the centerboard trunk
>>> on
>>> rhodes22.org, that was a lot of work.
>>>
>>> Here is a picture, perhaps someone here knows who owned it before me, it
>>> had
>>> a Virginia hull id on it.
>>>
>>> http://alexmckenna.com/content/fortuitous Fortuitous
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> View this message in context:
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>>> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> David Bradley
>> +1.206.234.3977
>> dwbrad at gmail.com
>> __________________________________________________
>> To subscribe/unsubscribe go to
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>>
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>> __________________________________________________
>>
>>
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://old.nabble.com/Rhodes-hit-by-car-update-tp29242919p29243284.html
> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
> __________________________________________________
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>
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-- 
David Bradley
+1.206.234.3977
dwbrad at gmail.com